Kppen Classification System 90 60 30 60 90

Köppen Classification System

90 60 30 60 90

Climate Classification Looks At… • Atmosphere • Hydrosphere • Geosphere • Biosphere • Cryosphere

In your groups, read about your assigned climate and present the following to the rest of the class: • Name and Letter of your climate • Description of the main climate type • Atmosphere • Hydrosphere • Geosphere • Biosphere • Cryosphere (if applicable) • Any subgroups of your climate, including descriptions • General latitudes where this climate is found • Relationship to high or low pressure

Humid Tropical - A • Temperatures average around 25 C or more each month • Very small temperature range • Yearly precipitation is high – usually more than 200 cm • All months are wet – if there is a dry season, it is very short • Found along equator

Humid Tropical - A • Wet Tropics • Af – every month has 6 cm or more of precipitation • Am – Short dry season • Tropical Wet and Dry • Aw – Well-defined winter dry season • As – Well-defined summer dry season

Dry - B • Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation • Very little, if any, precipitation each year • Found between 20 -30 N and 20 -30 S • Steppe – BS – Semi-arid – slightly more humid • Desert – BW - Arid

Humid Middle-Latitude with Mild Winters - C • Average temperature of coldest month is under 18 C and above -3 C • Typically in sub-tropical regions – 30 -60 N and 30 -60 S

Humid Middle-Latitude with Mild Winters - C • Dry-Summer Subtropics – Csa, Csb • West sides of Continents • Dry summers • Also called Mediterranean Climate

Humid Middle-Latitude with Mild Winters - C • Humid Subtropical – Cfa • Southeastern US • Hot, humid summers • Afternoon and evening thunderstorms likely • Winters are drier, frost possible

Humid Middle-Latitude with Mild Winters - C • Marine West Coast – Cfb • Western side of continents • Dominated by onshore flow of oceanic air • Mild winters, cool sumers • Ample rainfall year round

Humid Middle-Latitude with Severe Winters - D • Characterized by extreme winters • Land-controlled climates • Absent in the Southern Hemisphere

Humid Middle-Latitude with Severe Winters - D • Humid Continental – Dfa, Dwa • Central and eastern portions of North America • Winter and summer temperatures considered severe • Generally more precipitation in the summer

Humid Middle-Latitude with Severe Winters - D • Subarctic – Dfc • Often referred to as the taiga • Winter is considered dominant • Warm, short summers • Produce the highest annual temperature ranges • Low annual precipitation

Polar - E • Mean temperature of the warmest month is below 10°C (50°F) • Temperatures in the summer are still cool • Low water vapor in the air • Low precipitation • Low evaporation

Polar - E • Tundra Climate – ET • Treeless climate • Almost exclusively found in Northern Hemisphere • Winters are severe, summers are cool • High annual temperature ranges • Low precipitation

Polar - E • Ice Cap Climate– EF • Does not have a single monthly mean above 0°C • No vegetation growth • Permanent ice and snow • Confined to the ice sheets of Greenland Antarctica

Highland - H • Cooler and wetter than nearby places because of higher altitude • Seasonal temperature cycles are similar to the surrounding areas • Slope and orientation to the sun also affect temperature and moisture